Brentford’s January transfer window: Cover for Toney and fringe players to move on

The transfer window reopens in a few days time with Brentford’s squad already in a promising position heading into the second half of the campaign. Thomas Frank had to deal with injuries to key players just before the World Cup started, but Aaron Hickey (ankle) and Pontus Jansson (hamstring) are stepping up their recoveries while Christian Norgaard is now fully fit.

Brentford were in a completely different position last season, so they should take comfort from the fact there are no areas of the starting XI which need to be immediately upgraded this time.

The club often save their money for the summer, but that does not mean they won’t spend big in January if an exciting opportunity emerges at the right price. The biggest decision Brentford need to make over the next few weeks is whether to pursue a striker due to the uncertainty around Ivan Toney’s future after he was charged by the Football Association over alleged gambling activity.

Here, The Athletic explains what business to expect from Brentford.

Last three January window spends

2022: £0million (signed Christian Eriksen on a free transfer and Jonas Lossl on a short-term loan)

2021: £2million (signed Saman Ghoddos on a permanent deal and Winston Reid on a short-term loan)

2020: £5.5million (signed Halil Dervisoglu, Shandon Baptiste and Tariqe Fosu in permanent deals)

How much money is likely to be available this month?

It is important to remember that Brentford broke their transfer record twice in the summer. They bought Hickey from Bologna for £14million and then England Under-21 international Keane Lewis-Potter in a deal worth up to £20million, while Mikkel Damsgaard arrived from Sampdoria for around £12million, too. Following such significant investment, it is unlikely they will spend heavily in January.

Lewis-Potter and Damsgaard’s playing time has been restricted so far this season, so the priority for Frank will be to extract more from them rather than look to the transfer market for quick solutions.

Who makes the key decisions over signings and how well do they work together?

There are four key people involved in Brentford’s recruitment process. Lee Dykes, the technical director, is responsible for identifying talent while Phil Giles, the director of football, takes charge of the negotiations. Frank will liaise with them to highlight areas of the squad that need improving and Matthew Benham, the club’s owner, will give his seal of approval.

Brentford have an excellent reputation for unearthing hidden gems in the transfer market and that is down to their extensive and intelligent use of data and the strong relationship between Benham, Dykes, Giles and Frank.

The club plans up to two transfer windows in advance, which means they are always prepared and have a clear idea of what type of player they are trying to sign in each window. They have demonstrated they are unafraid to gamble or take advantage of a unique opportunity, which is shown by their bold pursuits of Eriksen and Mykhaylo Mudryk in the past.

Which position is the priority?

For the first time since Brentford were promoted to the Premier League, after beating Swansea City 2-0 in the 2021 Championship play-off final, there are no obvious weaknesses in the squad.

Hickey solved their long-term issues at right-back and fellow summer signing Thomas Strakosha, who made 208 appearances during his time at Italian club Lazio, is a much better backup goalkeeper for David Raya than Alvaro Fernandez or Jonas Lossl were last season.

The main concern for Brentford is the situation with Toney. The 26-year-old has been investigated by the Football Association for eight months and charged with allegedly breaching their betting rules on 262 occasions in total. If Toney is found guilty, he could be banned from playing.

That means Brentford need to be ready to find a striker who could provide cover on a short-term deal or consider investing in a longer-term option. The club have always wanted to get extra competition for Toney anyway, but it has proven difficult to convince targets to be his understudy.

Who are plausible targets?

Brentford’s chances of signing Mudryk are over. The Ukrainian international has been a long-term target for the club and they were prepared to smash their transfer record by paying €30million for him on deadline day in September.

However, Shakhtar Donetsk refused to budge and Mudryk’s performances in the Champions League this season have seen his value soar. Shakhtar’s CEO Sergei Palkin has held discussions with several clubs over the 21-year-old winger and is looking for a fee of €100million, which prices Brentford out of the race.

The club were interested in Freiburg forward Kevin Schade during the summer, too, and they remain admirers, however, history tells us Brentford do not tend to spend big in winter windows and, at a fans’ forum held a couple of weeks ago, Giles gave an insight into their approach.

“All the best ideas and plans are always a bit tricky in January to get the right deal and the right price,” he said. “We’re always trying to do what we can in terms of quality players to improve the team. I don’t know where we’ll get to in January, but we’ll give it a go.

“I don’t look at this team and see an obvious gap or hole in the squad. We are pretty strong all over the place, we trust the players, and there’s no reason to go and throw money at someone for no reason.”

Keep your expectations low, but remember this time last year nobody anticipated Brentford would end up signing Eriksen…

Who could be heading out?

Brentford have no intention of selling any of their best players, but fringe members of the first-team squad could be moved on.

Charlie Goode has not played competitively since February, when he was on loan at Sheffield United, due to a series of injuries but was involved in Brentford’s mid-season training camp in Spain and came off the bench in their 2-2 draw with Vfl Wolfsburg on December 17. The centre-back may feel it is necessary to go out on another loan to relaunch his career.

Mathias Jensen and Saman Ghoddos are valued members of Frank’s squad, but their contracts expire in six months. They have one-year extension clauses that have not been activated yet which leaves them in a slightly tricky position.

Halil Dervisoglu is currently on loan at Burnley and has been restricted to only six appearances in the Championship during this campaign. Brentford could recall the forward, but he would be unable to go out on another loan to a different team due to rules that prevent players from representing three or more clubs in the same season.

Which World Cup star would be perfect for Brentford?

Since the start of last season, Toney has been directly involved in 40 per cent of Brentford’s goals in the Premier League.

They need a decent alternative and Burnley’s striker Wout Weghorst, who is currently on loan at Besiktas, could be a cut-price option. Brentford like to be direct and Weghorst would be a match made in heaven due to his exceptional aerial ability, which he demonstrated during the Netherlands’ memorable quarter-final match against Argentina at the World Cup.

(Top photos, left to right: Ivan Toney, Kevin Schade, Wout Weghorst; all Getty Images)